Eve wasn't a stupid girl by any means. She had figured it out long ago when her mother left for weeks at a time on business trips then came home bruised and battered. Eve realized her mother was a spy two months before her death somewhere in Russia.

all right, I amm sooooooooo sorry i didn't post on this one for so long D: I didn't mean to, but a bunch of other stuff ha higher priorty than this one I hope you'll forgive me have a chapter as a gift to say I is sorry :D

Midnight Eyes

Chapter 2

Eli had never been more scared in his life-partly for the fact that one of his best friends might be bleeding out in a parking garage.

Mostly though, it was because Eve was driving like a maniac on LSD during Woodstock. Yeah. Not fun for the passenger by any means. He had already loaded his SIG and was getting ready to jump out as soon as the car stopped.

Eve thanked god that it wasn't business hour right now. She rounded corners fast, speeding past the limit wherever she could to shave a little time off the ride so they could arrive in time. She'd thrown the first aid kit into the back of the car and was ready to do what she had to.

When they finally arrived at the right place, Eve jumped out before the car had even come to a full stop. Eli was right behind her, holding up his SIG and staring down the sights, trying to scope out the area quickly and efficiently so he could make sure the area was safe.

When he saw Jace, on the ground in a growing pool of blood, his heart clenched and he wished for a bad guy to show up, just so he could get the satisfaction of shooting him down.

A girl stood over him, keeping pressure on the wound.

"What happened?"

"Not now. It wasn't a hollow point, so he should be okay as long we can keep him stable. I've stopped the bleeding, but the bullets still in there. We have to get out of here. Someone saw us called the cops."

Sirens could be heard in the distance, becoming louder as they closed in on the group.

"Eve…" Jason gasped out, reaching blindly for her.

"It's okay. I'm here Jace." She said soothingly, resting her hand on his cheek and staring into his dulling green eyes. "Stay with me."

His eyes closed but he was still awake, his breathing harsh and strained.

"We gotta get moving, girls!" Eli shouted, able to hear the sirens blaring all to clearly.

Eve and the mystery woman glanced at each.

"Jason… we're going to move you, okay honey?" Eve whispered to the injured man. His eyes fluttered open again. Jason stared right into her eyes, his gaze glassy and almost blank.

"Everything will change…" He muttered then he said a little louder this time, "Nothing stays the same…" He coughed, trying to pull in air that he just couldn't seem to be there. The bleeding had started up again, and Eve motioned for the girl to put pressure on it again.

"It's all right…" Eve cooed, not understanding what he was trying to get across. "Eli! A little help." She called, getting his attention. He put the gun in his waistband, and jogged over, carefully hoisting his fallen friend into his arms like he was no more than a puppy.

He carried Jason to the car, placing him carefully in the back seat then got in the drivers seat, turning on the engine. Eve climbed into the back with him, making sure he kept still and didn't injure himself further. She cradled his head in her lap, still whispering to him, making sure he stayed there and didn't leave the earth early.

"Get in." Eli said sharply, reaching over to open the passenger door to allow the girl into the car. He wanted to hear the story. If that meant kidnapping her and not letting her go until she released the information, than he would do exactly that.

She jumped in and they sped back to the apartment, unsure what would happen next.

According to her, her name was Sasha, and she was a doctor. Note the 'was.' Sasha says that she had lost her license by not reporting gunshot wounds to the police. Eve found the irony almost smothering.

She demanded on the way back to the apartment that they stopped at her house, so she could get her things that she would need to perform the operation.

"Operation?" Eve demanded, still holding onto Jace's hand. He was starting to go cold, his breathing shallow and pained.

"He's got a bullet in his chest, probably lodged into the left lung if not something more important." Sasha explained quickly. She reached backward, half turned in her seat so she could take his Jason's wrist and read his pulse.

She grimaced but said dutifully that it could be worse. A lot worse.

Jason was strong, much stronger than Eve or Eli could hope to be. If anyone could pull through this, he could.

*(*)*

For two days, Eve sat next to his bed, unable to do anything but worry.

She was a seasoned fighter, coming from the war in Iraq, and she knew that if she let her worries get to her; she would ultimately let down Eli when he needed her for something big.

She learned on the second day, about ten hours after the initial injury and the surgery performed on the kitchen counter.

Jason slept silently in Eve's room, the only room in the small apartment with a bed. The men usually slept on the floor or the couch.

"So, you gonna tell me what it was that happened back there?" She asked in the silence. It was dark in the living room, Eli slung across the couch and snoring in what looked likes a very uncomfortable position.

Sasha took a sip at her water as she gathered her thoughts and tell the story in a way that didn't put her in a bad position with the worried war veteran.

"I was leaving the hospital after I 'd just put the last of my stuff in the car. I was about to go back up because I forgot something there, when I saw him. He was hiding behind a car, already looking down the sights of a pistol. It was obvious he knew he was in trouble. He motioned for me to down and to hide, but I didn't move. I was confused and a little scared."

"Continue," Eve said tersely.

"I don't know exactly what happened. I heard the gunshot, it echoed and a second seemed like forever and then he was on the ground, bleeding. I ran toward him and when I glanced up I saw a woman, long dark hair, and all dark clothes. She knew I saw her and she ran away as fast as she could. That's about when I called you with his cell phone—it only had three numbers in it, you, Eli and his parents. I picked you cause I guessed you would be a girlfriend. I didn't call the parents cause they would freak out."

"Yeah…" Eve agreed after a moment. "I owe you big time."

Sasha shook her head. "Don't worry about it. He'll be fine as long as I can keep an eye on him."

Eve raised an eyebrow at her, which she couldn't see in the darkness. "You're staying with us?"

"Just until he gets a little better." Sasha admitted. "I wouldn't want him coding a minute after I left. Plus," She added with an unseen grin, "I kind of want to know who it was that tried to kill him and why,"

On the third day after he'd been hurt Eve learned she couldn't sit with him any longer. Eli had some job he needed to do and he'd already held it off to long. She left Jace there, still unmoving, his rasping breathing the only thing that entitled life.

"So what're we doing?" Eve asked, placing her feet on the seat and wrapping her arms around her knees.

Eli kept his eyes on the road. Eve wasn't sure if he as being a good driver or if he was avoiding her eyes. She knew she had some sort of power of both of the men, and she didn't use it much unless she had no other choice.

She was about to use said power, when Eli decided to answer. "It's not really a job. I wanted to go back to the place we found Jace."

"Eli…you know that place is going to be swarming with the police. We'd never get out without being questioned. If they've done any tests on the blood they found, they'll know it's him, and they'll be looking for us."

"Well, that's why I brought you." He said simply. Now he looked over, giving Eve a sly smile. "You can smooth talk your way outta anything, right honey?"

Eve groaned. "We're posing as a couple now?"

"Yup. Your name can stay the same I guess. I'll have to change mine in case I'm in their books."

"You probably are…" Eve agreed. "How about Michael Something?"

"Uhhh… Michael O'Donnell? That's sort of Irish right?"

"Yeah."

"That'll be fun." Eli chuckled switching to his Irish brogue way of talking. He could switch accents so fast he's make heads spin.

*(*)*

"You fought in the war? Lieutenant…"

"Commander." Eve corrected. She didn't just get that rank. If people were going to refer to her through rank, they were going to use the right one. "Commander Chase."

"Then perhaps you knew Jason Devereaux. He fought in the same area as you a few years ago."

"Yes, I knew him. Why? Is he okay?" She asked, pretending she didn't know. If they dug deep enough, they might learn She even glanced behind the officer, looking toward where the yellow tape was and where a biohazard team was finally cleaning up after the mess that they had been looking at for the past two days. Apparently they had tested the blood they found before it was too late.

The officer put on his best grave expression and said, "We think he might be hurt. Can you tell me when the last time you saw him was?"

Eve continued to try and see around him, acting all worried. "Last Christmas I visited him. Do you know where he is?"

"No, Commander we don't know. We think he might have been seriously wounded then taken by the person who tried to kill him."

Eve plastered a look of shock onto her face. "Oh my god… but Jace never did anything. Everyone in his company knew him like a brother. He hasn't made a single enemy, "At least not that wasn't shot and killed, "That I know of. Who would do this?"

"I don't Know Commander. I was hoping you might know."

Eve shook her head dully. She hoped Eli was having a little more ease finding something than she was.

Eli was in fact having a little more luck. Searching through the foliage just about ten feet away from where they had found Jace, he found just what he thought might be damning evidence. It was the casing for a bullet. Doubtless that the police crime scene investigators missed it. And if he knew what kind of gun this had been shot from, he might get some insight on what was going on. He pocketed the little piece of metal and jumped back out of sight, running back to their car they had parked half a block away.

He drove around to the front of the building, right where the commanding policeman was interrogating Eve.

"You ready to go lil' lassie?" Eli asked with his accent.

Eve turned around and answered. "Hold on a minute Michael." She turned back to the policeman and said, "Is it all right if I go? You'll call me if anything changes, right? Jason is a very good friend of mine."

"Yes, I'll call you with an update soon, Commander." The policeman said truthfully. He knew a good friend when he saw one, and he didn't like leaving people—especially women—out in the cold.

Eve smiled at him and moved to join Eli in the car.

"Say…" the man started after a moment. "You wouldn't know how to contact his folks would you? We don't have their number."

"Oh…of course." Eve gave a strained smile. She scribbled the number down on the man's notepad and got away with Eli after another quick goodbye and a thank you.

"Did you find anything?" She asked after they were safely headed back home and out of earshot of the police.

"Yup." He grinned, keeping one hand on the wheel, and reaching into his pocket, bringing out the dull metal casing and handing it to Eve.

She inspected it and said a little offhandedly, "It's from a bullet. How is this going to-."

"If I know what kind of gun it was shot from, I can tell where the gun came from, and where the person is from that tried to kill him. Don't worry." He smiled at her again. "Gun expertise is what you hired me for, right?"

*(*)*

"Eve…" Jason mumbled. He repeated the name again, a little stronger.

He jumped at the touch of another person, reeling away and nearly catapulting himself off the bed. He gasped at the slightest movement, stopping himself when he recognized the pain as it become forefront in his mind. It was dull and loud, pounding until it got all of his attention. Once he felt it, he found it hard to get away from, as it consumed every part of his mind and body. His breathing got faster as he started to panic without thinking.

"It's all right." Someone said somewhere above and beyond him. The words were muffled, hard to distinguish. "You're okay." He felt a needle pierce his skin and he wanted to try and fight it, but he didn't have the strength.

Suddenly, the fluff over his mind seemed to clear, and he managed to open his eyes.

The woman that stood over him wasn't Eve. His mind threw him into panic again, his heart beating much to fast.

"Calm down, I'm a friend. Eve and Eli are on their way." She spoke slowly so he could understand and this momentarily annoyed him—he wasn't stupid—but than he comprehended his words. Eve and Eli are coming.

He relaxed a little but still was wary of this woman. He recognized her as the one he had seen at the parking garage, and obviously, she had helped him.

Or, they had both been shot and now were dead.

But heaven wouldn't be filled with so much pain, he knew that much.

He closed his eyes to blink, but found he couldn't open them again, so he fell back into the darkness.

*(*)*

Yay! I finally update this one! =3 you guys must realize that I have yto do a lot of research on this story—mostly for guns. I am quite the gun fanatic, but I don't know everything, so I have to check sometimes, make sure I didn't mix up Parabellem with Pachabel or something stupid like that :P

Well, you know the dealio… reviews!

I love reviews! Every time I get one—even bad ones, which don't come often thank goodness—I jump with joy and can't stop giggling with happiness for about two hours. Yeah, I know sad right?

Anyways, thanks to my two reviewers on the first chapter—I hope to hear from you both again—and even bigger thanks to the two who put this story on alerts :D I wuv you guys :3

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